If Only To Save you
by Kage Ame
Summary: AUIn the Heian era: They met under normal circumstances, both running from their roles in society. But unusual circumstances draw them closer: Kaoru is engaged to the Emperor's brother & Kenshin is the son of a provincial lord
1. Chapter 1: Foreboding

If Only to Save You

Chapter 1: Foreboding

Himura Kenshin opened his eyes expecting to find himself in his own room, but instead he found himself in a highly decorated room in the Emperor's palace. The paintings on the shoji doors and walls told him so. They were intricately painted with creatures that only lived in China, such as the great white tiger. He turned around and found that he was not alone in this room, rather he saw himself standing at the entranceway of the room. His other self stared across the room at another unseen being with intense amber eyes. Kenshin followed the gaze to find that it was a woman kneeling on the floor with her head bowed. It was then he realized he couldn't see her face. However, the many layers of kimono she wore, and the crown adorning her hair, told him that she had to be the empress or else the daughter of an emperor. What scared him about the scene was that his other self was covered in blood. That same dark red that covered the shoji doors behind him.

What in the blazes was going on?

"_Do you think," The woman's voice pierced through the silence. That voice held a sorrow that Kenshin had never heard before. "Do you think this could have ended differently?" She finished her question and raised her head to the man that stood across the room. The ornaments from her crown dangled with her slight movement._

"_I wish it could have." Was the reply from Kenshin's lethal form._

_The woman took a deep breath before slowly standing up from her position. _To Kenshin who was watching the scene, the movement seemed to take a great deal of effort. But finally she stood up straight and while Kenshin could not see her face, he knew she was smiling. That knowledge scared him. How could he know such a detail when he could not see her face?

"_I am glad that I got to see you again," She moved her way closer to her assassin. Her stride across the room was graceful and confident. "My only wish is that you weren't burdened with this task." She stopped just in front of Kenshin as she finished speaking._

"What are doing?" Kenshin yelled at the woman. If the blood was any indication of what was about to happen, Kenshin could not fathom why the woman would put herself so close to danger.

"_This isn't how it's supposed to end." Kenshin whispered to the woman. His voice was filled with regret that was emphasized through the gentle caress of his fingers on her cheek. "None of this," Kenshin choked on his words, "had anything to do with you."_

"_If I had not chosen to take this responsibility," She placed her hand over his. "Then another would have had to meet this fate." She kissed his palm. "No one deserves this."_

"_Neither do you!" He shouted at her, pulling away._

"_This is my fate, Kenshin." She stepped back from him, her tears silently falling down her cheek. "Please..."_

Both of them were silent, and that silence was killing Kenshin as he observed the scene. Why was he seeing this? What did this have to do with anything? Kenshin didn't want to believe he was about to witness himself killing someone. It wasn't possible! Especially if there was another way...

"_Is this really the only way to save you?" Kenshin asked through his tears. The tears glistened in the remaining light that was in the room._

_The woman's only answer was to close her eyes and bow her head to Kenshin. Reluctantly he raised his sword over his head. "Forgive me..."_

"No!" Kenshin shouted, which caused his other self to stop abruptly and turn to the source of the sound. Soon everything faded away from his vision and soon he was left with original surroundings: the plain walls of his master's dojo. It was then that Kenshin remembered he had been training when he decided to meditate. Somehow the meditation had triggered something else entirely, instead of clearing his thoughts.

Kenshin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he started to rediscover himself. His heart was beating rapidly, as was his breathing. Everything about his mind was in turmoil, but when he finally managed to collect his thoughts, they all landed on one question: What had just happened?


	2. Chapter 2: Unusual Meetings

If Only To Save You

Chapter 2: Unusual Meetings

Already the day was starting out badly. Kenshin sat before his master, Hiko Seijirou. He was receiving yet another lecture and like all other lectures, it began with how stupid or idiotic he was. This time, he was also labeled as lazy and ungrateful.

"Shishou," Kenshin interrupted. "It was not my intention to delay." Thus began his defense speech, but Hiko would not hear of it this time.

"But you did nonetheless." Hiko huffed. "I didn't think that one trip could have dulled your mind." Hiko paced back and forth in place with his arms crossed in front of him. "What am I to do with such a useless pupil?"

Kenshin sighed as he listened to his master list all the possible punishments to enforce. It was always the same.

"Where are you going?" Hiko demanded, noticing that Kenshin had stood up.

"Out." Kenshin placed his short and long sword back at his waist. He wasn't going to bother with explanations. "When you think of a proper punishment, I will carry it out when I return."

Hiko grunted, but proceeded to ignore his pupil's attitude...this time. Obviously neither of them was in the mood to deal with the other.

Sliding open the door, Himura Kenshin was met with yet another person this morning. Either Hiko's lectures were entertaining or Kenshin was just popular today.

"Did something happen?" The boy pushed himself away from the wall, surprised at Kenshin's sudden appearance.

"No, just the usual," was Kenshin's reply.

"What was it this time?"

Kenshin smiled and turned his full attention to the boy. "I am going out for awhile," he watched as the spike-haired boy was surprised, again, by the sudden announcement. "Please watch things for me, Yahiko." Kenshin turned and headed out without further explanation.

"Oh, uh, yeah sure." Yahiko managed to spit out. 'That was strange.' He thought.

----

The red headed swordsman stepped out of the confinements of his home and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful sunny day, and yet he wasn't able to appreciate it. There was too much on his mind and he needed to sort it out. He needed someplace to think. Glancing towards the forest at the edge of his village, he decided it would be best to go where no one would follow.

"Kenshin-san!" A feminine voice called to him.

"Ah, good morning Tae-dono." He waited as the woman hurried up to him.

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked him, once she caught up.

'Is it really that odd when I leave my home?' Kenshin asked himself.

"Yes, I have some training to catch up on." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth either.

"Young master always puts too much on himself." Tae sighed at him.

He smiled at her but turned to leave. "Please excuse me Tae-dono. I really must be on my way."

"Please take this with you." She handed him a basket. It was small but it was decorated with blue pieces of cloth to hold the contents in. "I was delivering this to your home, but since you are on your way out - it would be best if you brought something to eat with you."

"Oh," He wasn't sure what to say to that. "That's okay Tae-dono. I am sure someone else needs it more than I." He held the basket out to her.

"You always have a tendency to forget to eat!" She shoved it back into his hands. "If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to help anyone." Tae suddenly smirked at him. "Besides, what woman will want you if you are just skin and bones?"

Kenshin laughed at that. She was right about so many things, but he didn't have the heart to tell her he wasn't interested in finding a wife. So he settled with, "thank you for your kindness." He bowed to her then and announced he was leaving. "Itekimasu."

"Iterashai." Tae waved after him as he headed towards the forest. Once he had turned away from her, she knew he wasn't paying any attention to her, but she still continued to wave. "Please take care of yourself."

--- --- ---

"Misao, are you sure this is a good idea?" Kamiya Kaoru leaned against a tree as she watched her friend mark out the area that they would practice. She was dressed in her kendo outfit with a bokken by her side, and her long black hair tied up into a pony tail. All she could do for now was to wait.

"Aoshi-sama said he would warn us if anyone showed up at the house." The young ninja girl, Makimachi Misao, tossed another of her kunai into yet another tree. She had tied red ribbons to them in order to mark out their arena. "Besides, it took me ages to convince him to allow us to practice. Don't tell me you want to back out now."

"I just don't like the position we have to place Shinomori-san in, just so that we can practice without anyone knowing." Kaoru grumbled.

"No, you should be thankful that the only person who knows about this **_is_** Aoshi-sama. Anyone else might have us executed for this." Misao paused and placed a kunai to her chin. "Rather, they will have you executed. I am a ninja and we have 'exceptions'." She threw her last kunai to finish her layout.

"Thanks a lot." Kaoru rolled her eyes, but another question was bothering her. "What if someone should see us?"

"Then we kill them."

"What did you just say?" Kaoru was immediately in front of Misao..

"I was kidding. Kaoru, no one comes into this forest." Misao brushed off Kaoru with a wave of her hand.

"But what if someone does?" Kaoru insisted.

"Then we knock them out and leave them so that they are left wondering what happened." The ninja girl idly waved a handful of kunai in front of Kaoru.

"Why is it always 'strike first, ask questions later' with you?"

"It's a gift." Misao winked. "Now, prepare yourself!"

Kamiya Kaoru, daughter of the late master of the Kamiya Kasshin style, stood ready for the first wave of attacks.

--- --- ---

Kenshin let out a sigh of relief once he entered the forest. While some part of him told him that venturing into this area of the forest was a bad idea, another part of him was thankful to be somewhere that no one would come looking for him.

Rumor had it that a murder happened in this forest and that the soul of the one who died haunted the forest. The other rumor was that a demon lured people deeper into the forest in order to feast on them. Kenshin wasn't sure he believed either story, but it kept everyone else out.

He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before slowly releasing it. Today he would begin his exercises with a bit of running. It would also give him a chance to do some thinking.

--- --- ---

Kaoru slid behind a tree just as three kunai lodged into the ground next to her. "Come on Kaoru!" Misao's voice could be heard in the distance. "Why are you holding back now?"

As Misao continued to whine, Kaoru quietly made her way around the trees. She wasn't trained in the arts of a samurai or ninja in the way that would allow her to move with stealth, but she could at least get close enough to do something.

"Over there!" Misao turned around and threw three more of her special weapons but Kaoru lunged forward and knocked them away with a swing of her bokken. "Gah! That wasn't supposed to happen!" Misao shrieked as Kaoru rushed forward and swung out at her.

Misao ducked down and tried to swipe Kaoru's legs out from underneath her, but instead her legs met the hard wood of the bokken that stopped her advance. "Not fair!"

--- --- ---

Kenshin froze. Any and all thoughts he had disappeared.

He was sure he heard a woman scream. He remained as still as a statue, listening for any sounds of struggle. It was only a brief moment when he heard another voice cry in pain. Dropping the basket Tae had given him, he took off towards the sound.

--- --- ---

"You're mine!" Misao swung her arm around to land a punch in Kaoru's side.

Kaoru was surprised at the sudden attack and found a cry was torn from her throat at the sudden impact to her ribs. "Damn that hurt." She grumbled to herself.

"You can't lose concentration." Misao placed her hand on the ground and swung her legs around to try and catch Kaoru's other side.

However her friend recovered and managed to block the kick with her forearm. The one movement distracted Misao just enough that Kaoru managed to land a soft blow to Misao's shoulder. Without a second thought, Kaoru rushed for her bokken that got knocked away at some point in the battle. Then she quickly hid behind the trees.

"You're not supposed to go easy on me!" Misao complained. "But your movements are getting faster."

Kaoru peaked around the tree, but Misao was gone. Cursing silently, Kaoru put her back against the tree and looked up into the branches. So far, no sight of Misao. She was getting harder to beat.

Then she felt it. It was very hard to detect, but it was there: the presence of a warrior's ki.

'Now I have you.' Kaoru grinned.

--- --- ---

Kenshin rushed silently into the area that he heard the fighting but shortly thereafter, the forest had gone silent again. He gripped the hilt of his long sword. He was worried that the attacker may have detected him and hid. Silently, he crept towards the area where he originally heard the fighting and the talking.

There was a sudden flare of energy from the ki behind a tree that warned him for the oncoming attack. Within a split second he unsheathed his sword and blocked the attack, but nothing had prepared him for what he was facing: a wooden bokken.  
Kenshin glanced at his attacker and noticed that his opponent was just as shocked as he was.

"A woman?" His eyes widened at the sight before him. It was a young woman, with long raven hair, who had delivered such an aggressive attack.

She stepped back quickly. "You're not supposed to be here." She said to him in disbelief. Kenshin lowered his weapon as he stared at her. What was a woman doing here? A woman with swordsmanship no less.

"Who are you - ?" Kenshin was cut off by the sudden pain at the back of his head. Then all of the world went black.

----

"Misao!" Kaoru rushed forward just as the man fell unconscious. She managed to catch him just before he hit the ground but she still struggled. "What did you do?"

"What did you expect me to do? Just stand there and let him do something to you?" Misao dropped the large piece of wood and dusted off her hands.

Kaoru gently lay the man down on the ground, making sure not to touch his wounded head more than she had to. "Did you really have to hit him so hard?"

"Yes!" Misao placed her hands on her hips. "Now we're going. I don't want to be here when he wakes up." She leaned over and grabbed Kaoru's arm.

"I am not going to leave him here like this!" Kaoru slipped out of her grip. "Especially since I don't know how hard you hit him." She narrowed her eyes at her friend. "What if he doesn't wake up?"

"Oh he'll be fine!" Misao kicked at his foot. "He's a samurai. I am sure he has suffered worse."

"Don't do that!" Kaoru batted Misao's foot away.

"Kaoru, please don't tell me you intend on staying here until he wakes up."

"I do actually." Kaoru kneeled down next to the unconscious red head.

"What about Genji? He's supposed to arrive sometime today." Misao reminded her. Genji would be distraught if Kaoru wasn't home when he arrived.

"You told me that Aoshi would warn us when he was about to arrive." Kaoru placed a hand on Kenshin's forehead to make sure he wasn't developing any symptoms. Not that she was entirely sure what she was looking for. She was too distracted by the whole situation. "So I will worry about it when that happens." She brushed some stray hairs out of his face. "Now, would you please fetch me some water and a cloth?"

Misao opened her mouth to protest but closed it. Kaoru was in that kind of mood, so no matter how much she would protest, Kaoru would not change her mind.

"Fine," Misao turned her back to Kaoru and crossed her arms. She would let Kaoru know somehow that she disagreed with it. "But I hope you know what you are doing." With that she leapt up into the tress and was gone.

Kaoru sighed and returned her attention to the man. "I hope so too."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: So I have started to rewrite this story because I didn't like how I had written it previously. It's kind of a slow starting story, but I hope that it will get better. At least this way it will be more understandable I hope. I have also changed certain details of the story to suit my needs better. This is an AU, so I won't be following history in the Heian period exactly. Not to mention that the writing style is more modern purely because I don't really know how to translate Heian Japanese into a historically accurate English version. I welcome suggestions though.

Thank you for your patience!

Kage Ame

Just in case:

---- means slight jump in timeline or point of view of the current situation

--- --- --- means change in the focus of the story


	3. Chapter 3: Beginnings of Something New

Kenshin groaned, his consciousness returning to him. His head was pounding, though he didn't know why. Slowly he opened his eyes; the image of the tree canopy filled his vision. When did he fall asleep outside?

"Are you awake?" A soft voice called to him. A woman's voices...wait a woman? His eyes shot open as he turned his head to the direction of the voice. Immediately his head complained by sending a shock of pain through his skull.

"Careful now." She helped him lay his head back down on the wrapped up blanket she had under his head. "You received a rather nasty bump to the head." Once she was sure he would stay lying down, she reached over for something then placed it on his forehead. It was a cool, wet cloth. "There's no cause for alarm." She continued to speak softly to him. Kenshin wasn't sure if she was doing it for his benefit, or if she was just a soft speaker.

"Thank you." He finally managed to say. The cloth was helping his headache.She shook her head at that and smiled at him. "There is no need for that." Her long black hair that had once been pulled back into a pony tail now cascaded down her back and fell freely about her shoulders. She placed her hand to the cloth that lay on his forehead, checking to see if it was warming up.

"What happened?" Kenshin finally asked. His question seemed to catch her off guard, a blush appearing on her face.

"You...don't remember?" She asked in return.

Kenshin shut his eyes for a moment, recalling the events he could before blacking out. "I remember coming into the forest." He narrated as he saw the images flash through his memory. "I heard a woman cry out, so I rushed to help." His eyes remained closed. "But by the time I arrived, there was no one around." Finally he opened his eyes and glanced at the woman who stared at him intently. "Then you were there and shortly there after, I blacked out.

Kaoru sighed. "My friend hit you in fear that you were attacking me." She looked away in shame. "Please forgive me. I didn't know there was anyone else around.

Kenshin chuckled slightly at that, but stopped when it made his headache worse. "Yes I suspected as much. It's not everyday that a man gets attacked by a woman in the forest.

Kaoru paled at his reminder of her actions. He could have her killed for attacking him. Heck, he could even have her killed for practicing swordsmanship. Leaping back into proper etiquette, Kaoru bowed her head to the ground.

"Please forgive me. If there is anything I can do for you, please ask."

Kenshin stared at her in surprise. She was worried he would punish her. He sat up, ignoring his head's protest. "I think you have done plenty for me." He gently brushed her head with his fingertips to get her to look up at him. When she reluctantly did so, he offered her the cloth back. "You have nothing to worry about from me." He smiled at her.

Kaoru stared wide-eyed at him but took the cloth from his hand, gripping it in her own. She stared down at her hands. Already he was so different from everyone else. "Thank you..." Distracting herself, she placed the cloth back in the bamboo basin and rinsed it out. Then shyly, she offered it back to him. Kenshin observed her silently. He could have sworn that when he first saw her, she was dressing in a training gi. But she was wearing a beautiful green kimono now

"About how long was I--"

"A couple hours." She answered before he could finish. "Ah, I'm sorry!" She bowed to him again only to be stopped by hands on her shoulders.

"Please don't." He asked of her.

"But—"

"Please." Here sat a woman who was wielding a sword earlier today, and now she was back in the submissive role. It made him uncomfortable to see this woman do that to herself. It shouldn't have, but it did.

She seemed to give in, for she sat up straight again, offering him the newly wetted towel.

"What is your name?" He found himself asking.

"K—Kaoru." Kaoru managed to avoid giving herself away. Anyone who heard the name Kamiya was bound to know who she was, and she couldn't risk that. Not to mention that the last thing she wanted right now was for this man to look at her differently. "May I ask yours?"

"Himura Kenshin." He replied without hesitation

"You must be someone of high standing, Himura-san."

"Not so. Just fortunate, you could say." He laughed. Once again his head protested, making him place the cool cloth to his forehead again. "Kaoru-dono."

"Yes?"

"Earlier you said I shouldn't be here." Again Kaoru seemed embarrassed by him.

"Ah, yes. I did say that." She confessed.

"Why?"

Kaoru sighed, her fingers fidgeting with each other. "No one comes into this forest...especially not this far." She spoke even quieter. "This forest is supposed to be forbidden."

"Yet you are here." He leaned back against the tree that stood behind him.

"Yes but...I shouldn't be here either." She finally confessed. She was refusing to look at him again.

Kenshin was completely fascinated at how her emotions rolled off her face like as if they were spoken. "Then why are you here?" She was escaping. Just the look on her face told him as much.

"Because..." She twisted a bit of her sleeve in her hands. "Because I am happier here."

Yet her answer caught him off guard. She glanced up at him from under her bangs just to see his eyes widen slightly. "No matter what anyone says," she raised her head to him. "It is more peaceful here to me than anywhere else." The shyness in her voice was gone. He was right, she had been softening her voice for his sake.

The stared at each other. Watched each other.

Kenshin was finally the one to break the silence. "There is certainly something special about this place."Kaoru smiled at him. It was the best thing he could say to her. And Kenshin decided that he liked to see her smile.

--------

Misao crouched on one of the tree branches, a safe distance away from the two. Not that it mattered, at some point they had become engrossed with each other. She wished she could hear what they were talking about, but it had to be pleasant because she had never seen Kaoru smile like that at anyone other than Misao. Or at least that much. It was comforting, as much as it was disturbing. To see Kaoru happy was thrilling to see, but it was also a dangerous risk. Kami-sama forbid that Kaoru got too attached to the stranger. She was supposed to marry the son of the Emperor: Prince Genji –though a commoner by name. It would not do if someone found out that she was seeing a man in the woods.

"She shouldn't be here." A sudden voice next to her, spoke up. She was thankful that she managed not to show her surprise. Aoshi always managed to sneak up on her...and that was bad. It meant she had more work to do.

"I know, but she refused to leave until she knew if he was all right." Misao explained with exasperation in her voice.

"The prince could arrive at any time." Aoshi stood up straight on the tree branch, his arms crossed in front of him as he balanced perfectly.

"That's why we have someone posted a far enough distance on the road to be on the look out." Misao huffed. How many times did she have to argue with him about this?

"She shouldn't be going out at all."

"But if we just keep her cooped up then she is bound to escape by herself and then what would we do?" Misao shot an annoyed glance at Aoshi who seemed unfazed.

She received no answer. Instead he just glanced at her in his usual stoic way then back at the scene before them. "The moment you hear the signal, make sure she leaves." Then he was gone.

Misao sighed. If she didn't have an unbelievable amount of love for the man, she probably would have smacked him several times by now...not that he knew that.

--------

"You sound like you've traveled a great deal, Himura-san." Kaoru's excitement to hear more shone through her words.

"Just a little." He smiled at her excitement. "Though you must have traveled some as well, if you have claimed this place to be the most peaceful." It was meant as an innocent remark, but he successfully managed to make her blush again.

"Actually...I haven't." She confessed. "I don't get to go much of anywhere."

"I'm sorry." Kenshin apologized.

Kaoru shook her head at him. "You have no reason to be. I did make it sound like I had something to compare to." She laughed at herself. "I should have said that this is the most peaceful place I have found...around here." She corrected.

Kenshin laughed at that. He was thankful that his head was feeling better.

"Where do you live?" He asked her, only her gaze and attention were elsewhere. "Kaoru-dono?" He asked in concern.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" She bowed her head to him.

"Is something wrong?" She seemed focused on the sound of the crow's call.

Sighing she looked at Kenshin with regretful eyes. "I have lost track of the time. I should go." She turned to the small bamboo water basin and moved it closer to him. "Please rest here longer."

"I should escort you to your home." Kenshin offered.

"It's all right. My friend should be meeting up with me again." She smiled to him. Without thinking, she reached behind his head and gently placed her hand over the bump. "The bump seems to be going down."

Kenshin blushed at her actions. Thankfully she didn't notice. She had also gotten close enough that he could smell the scent of jasmine. What a strange girl.  
"Please feel free to use this." She motioned to the basin. "Just leave it here when you are through."

"But how will you get it?" He asked as she stood up.

"I will get it tomorrow." She smiled to him. "Please be careful." Bowing to him in respect, she continued. "Thank you for everything." She then turned to leave.

"Take care."

"Kaoru-dono." Kenshin called to her. Would this really be the last time they saw each other?

"Yes?" She looked back at him, concern evident in her eyes and voice.

He was silent for a moment. He had to phrase his words carefully.

"Himura-san?" She questioned.

"Kenshin." He corrected her. "Next time we meet...just call me Kenshin." His lavender eyes looked into her bright blue eyes. For the first time, he hoped that  
they would communicate what he could not say aloud. Whether she understood or not, she gave him the most beautiful smile he had seen yet."All right." She bowed again, her smile never wavering. "Until then." Kaoru then hurried off, like a girl with happy news to deliver.

Kenshin watched her go, before glancing down at the cloth in his hands. "Until next time..." He whispered.

--------------

The reformatted version of chapter 3! And some minor editing corrections (like spelling).

-Kage Ame

影雨


	4. Chapter 4: Engagement

Kaoru stood before Misao and Aoshi, waiting as the approved her attire. It wasn't supposed to be their job, but Genji had requested it of them this evening. Why did they have to approve of her attire? Because Kaoru was expected to look her best for the prince, but this evening he had requested that she wear one of the kimonos he had made especially for her. It was made of dark blue silk, embroidered elaborately with a gold thread that was reserved only for the Emperor and his family. Her hair had been pinned up under a gold hair piece, so that her painted face would be shown off.

In one hand she held a fan, and the other lay against her green obi. She felt so fake. Finally, Misao and Aoshi escorted her into the dojo practice hall. It was an unusual place to meet, since usually she was not allowed to be in her father's old practice room. In the center of the room sat Genji, eagerly waiting for her. Kaoru lowered herself to her knees before him and bowed her head to the floor.

"Welcome Genji-sama." She kept her voice soft, just as she had been trained to do. "You honor my house with your presence." Again she recited the words expected when in the presence of royalty. "Are none of the other rooms appropriate, your Majesty?"

"Kaoru," Genji took her hands and pulled her from the floor to look at him. "These rituals are unnecessary between us."

"But it isn't proper." Kaoru didn't meet his gaze. She kept her eyes staring at the floor.

The prince lifted her chin to look at him. "But it is the prince who is asking you." He placed a gentle kiss to her cheek. If Kaoru had been any other woman, it would have made her blush.

"Yes Genji-sama." She whispered. He released her then as she sat up straight.

"I hope you will be more comfortable to drop the formalities when we are married." His voice held a wistful tone, which seemed to reflect in his eyes. Kaoru quietly raised the fan to cover her face as she hid from Genji's disappointed gaze.

He sighed. "Have you been well?" She asked him, though really she just wanted to yell at him to leave.

"Yes, though my brother has become no less difficult." Genji nodded to the young serving girl as she served them tea. "He disapproves of my leaving the palace so frequently."

Kaoru bowed her thanks to the girl just before lowering her fan. "Thank you Tsubame-chan." She whispered. Picking up her cup, she held it in her hands as she spoke. "My lord is the brother of the Suzaku emperor and son of the former emperor. It is improper for you to associate yourself with those like us." Her stomach curled at her words. It was demeaning to say such words, but it was true. A prince or aristocrat was not to associate with those of lower class. While it was known that Genji's father had loved a woman with no strong backing, at least she had still been the daughter of a grand councilor. That had been enough for her to be considered upper class. Kaoru had no such backing. Her father had been a samurai, albeit reluctant to kill when he was called to the task.

"Ah but my father made me a commoner and placed me in the Genji clan, remember?" Genji smiled at her. "I maybe an imperial official, but I am still a commoner by decree." Kaoru directed her eyes to the floor, avoiding his gaze. She didn't want him to see her accusing glare. He wasn't just a mere imperial official, he was a damned minister! Not only that, but the emperor held him in complete confidence – or at least that was what they said. "Yes…but –"

Genji waved his hand to stop her from continuing. "It doesn't matter. I am here, and that is what matters." He took a sip from his cup and set it back down. "Besides, aristocrats are not the only people that make up a ruler's kingdom. We should not be ashamed of those that make the kingdom successful. Aristocrats snub the idea of working on a farm, but without someone to tend the fields, would they not starve?" He stood up and walked over to the wall that had all the names of the former dojo students. "This land is not sown by the upper class…yet they shun those that take pride in doing it." He sighed again and looked towards Kaoru, his eyes filled with remorse. "Why do we have to pretend like they don't exist?"

Kaoru actually gave a sincere smile at his words. Genji was a bit of a philosopher and an idealist. She wished she could appreciate him, but a voice in the back of her mind kept nagging at her that Genji was putting up an act. Though she had questioned if maybe she was bitter because he had never actually tried to court her before announcing he was marrying her. Then there was also the fact that Genji was a known entertainer of women. Did he not have two wives before her? It all seemed too convenient.

"It is the way of things." Setting down her tea cup she responsed. It was supposed to be rhetorical, but she felt it necessary to say something.

"It would change if I was emperor." He answered quickly, his voice and face set with the utmost confidence.

"Some of those in the court may not appreciate your ideals Genji-sama."

Genji stared at her, to which she was thankful she was able to hide behind her fan. Finally his gaze softened. "What do you think?"

To say she was startled was an understatement. He was asking her? Was she supposed to answer honestly?

"I think…it is a wonderful idea." Was her honest reply.

He smiled at that, a genuine smile. "Then that is all that matters to me." Genji walked over to her and knelt down next to her. "I beg your forgiveness, Kaoru." He clasped her free hand in his.

Kaoru managed to avoid dropping her fan, instead she was able to gracefully lower it to her lap. She mentally thanked herself that she was even able to avoid gaping like a fish. So she settled with just staring at him in surprise. "Whatever for my lord?"

"I have rushed things between us." He caressed the back of her fingers with his thumb. "I don't know much about you, aside from observations from afar." Bringing her hand to his lips, he placed a gentle kiss. "I knew of you, but when I saw you in a town close to here…" He sighed happily. "You were breathtaking."

Kaoru blushed this time. "I found myself obsessed with seeing you whenever I could." He rubbed his cheek against the back of her hand. "But when I didn't see you, I tried to distract myself with others." He glanced at her, gaging her reaction. Kaoru, however, remained impassive. "Does that bother you?"

This was entirely too simple. It was as if he was trying to ease all her suspicious in one conversation.

"Please be honest." He took her silence as reluctance to answer truthfully.

Well she would use it. "Yes it does." Her voice didn't hide all her anger, just most of it. "I found, no…I still find it hard to believe that my lord has honest intentions towards me, when he is known by many women." There. She had been honest. Though it made the servants choke on their breath of air, she was at least honest.

"I know." Genji responded and it didn't just surprise Kaoru, but everyone else in the room.

"You know?" Kaoru heard herself ask.

"Rather, I suspected as much. While you are the daughter of a samurai, your father's name was disgraced due to his teachings." He pulled both of her hands into his. "I could marry any woman, and I have married twice before, so why would I choose you?" He paused, staring at their hands. "Surely it must be because you are the one woman who would not give into me by your free choice." He looked at her then. "This is what you think, yes?"

Kaoru just nodded.

"If I truly had honest intent, I wouldn't have forced your hand in marriage." Finally he let go of her. "I know this, yet I couldn't see how else you would let me anywhere near you. Demanding your presence is like announcing lustful intent. Chasing you about town is considered bad form. Marriage is usually seen as ways of settle political deals or even the expression of love, thus I chose such a course."

"Because marrying me wouldn't have any sort of political gain…" Kaoru paused in her train of thought, but she had to ask. "But you don't love me."

"Do you think that because I don't know you well enough?" He tilted his head in a curious manner.

Kaoru couldn't believe any of this really. Her head seemed to spin with the recent development. "Why are you telling me all of this?" Her question came out unintentionally as a hoarse whisper.

"Because I want you to see me for who I am. Not as how everyone knows me."

Genji had left at some point, though Kaoru couldn't remember when. The rest of the evening had faded from her memory, like a fleeting dream. Misao had helped her get ready for bed silently. She had noticed Kaoru's lack of energy and desire to speak about the evening's events. Eventually Misao had left to make security preparations for the rest of the night. Kaoru, however, couldn't even think about sleeping. Too much had happened at once. Genji had wordlessly admitted he loved her, hadn't he? The thought made her frown. It made her angry. How dare he come into her life like this? How dare he claim her for his bride? Unlike the aristocrats, her common status allowed her to leave the confinements of her home. Most of the upper class women rarely saw multiple men, just their father and their husband. But Kaoru, she could actually go out. Sure at one point in her family they had been upper class, which is why she had the family name Kamiya. But through the years, they had lost that status and Kaoru was grateful for it. It meant she didn't have to deal with all the trouble that went on in courts. But now, she had been given her own maid to dress her in the robes fit for an upper-class woman. She had been given her own tutor to teach her the ways of the court, but the thing she hated most of all, was being confined in her own home. She wasn't allowed to leave! Oh sure Genji had went on about being a declared commoner, but he still enjoyed the luxury that was given to him by his emperor father. And his brother, the current emperor, had clearly made sure Genji knew how to behave accordingly in the courts. That meant restricting his dalliances and any other such behavior that might get associated with his family ties. Kaoru had no doubt that someone had spoken with Genji to make sure that this "special bride" was going to be appropriate.

She had to get out of the dojo. She didn't care what time of night it was.

Donning a light yukata and kimono draped around her for warmth, Kaoru slid open the shoji door of her room just enough to check for her guards. Seeing no one in the hall, she thanked that Misao hadn't finished things yet. Moving in the way she had learned by observing Misao, she snuck through the halls without a sound. Then quickly she jumped into the shadows of her garden and rushed off into the woods. Misao was going to kill her.

Staring up at the moon, Kenshin hadn't moved much from his spot under the tree. It was strange just how comforting this place was. He knew that his master was going to kill him for returning so late, and he had no doubt some of the people in town were going to be worried that he had disappeared without much word and hadn't returned. Yet he couldn't bring himself to leave just yet. While he kept his face towards the sky, his eyes glanced down at the bamboo basin and the wash cloth.

Women were not allowed to fight, let alone touch a weapon and yet this Kaoru did both. Although her weapon of choice was a bokken, it was still a weapon of sorts.

…_I am happier here…_

The words echoed in his mind. Yes there was definitely something about this place that seemed to soothe his troubled mind and ease his worries.

Though his worries were not something to be ignored. There were rumors about that the Suzaku emperor was soon to abdicate the throne. There was talk of a civil war brewing because it was unclear who would take the throne. Thus the Minamoto and Taira clans were silently building their power to place one of their own as emperor. This did not bode well with Kenshin. After so many years of peace, it was foolish for it all to be lost in a battle for power.

A sudden sound in the forest caught his attention. He quickly snapped his sword out just enough, in case he needed to draw it quickly.

"Himura-san?" Came the surprised voice.

Kenshin blinked and watched as Kaoru came through the shadows of the forest. She wasn't dressed in anything spectacular other than a simple yukata and the kimono that dragged behind her like a robe for winter. Yet the way her hair fell down about her shoulders and the moon reflecting off of her…she was beautiful.

"Kaoru-dono?" He dropped his hand from his sword and pushed away from the tree. "What are you doing here so late?" He asked her.

Kaoru laughed at his question. "I was wondering the same thing about you." She walked up to him and stopped to stand just in front of him. "I hadn't expected to see you so soon again."

Kenshin couldn't help but chuckle at that. It was true, meeting like this was quite unexpected.

"Is something wrong, Him—ah Kenshin?" She blushed in embarrassment. She hadn't meant to stumble over his name, but she had remembered his request.

Kenshin could only smile at this, but he shook his head in response. "Nothing at all. I just found this place…soothing." He looked around the area as if it could explain his contentment. "I was reluctant to leave, I guess." He placed a hand on the back of his head and laughed at himself.

Kaoru returned his smile and looked at the tree behind him before returning her gaze back to him. "I know exactly what you mean."

Kenshin motioned for her to sit, to which she gladly accepted the invitation. "Why did you decide to stay?"

Pulling his sword from his waist, Kenshin sat down with her. Why had he decided to stay? Staring at the sword in his hand, he thought about the question. "Because I did not wish to return home just yet." He finally said.

"Surely your family and friends are missing you?" Kaoru wrapped her arms around her knees and laid her cheek on them. She looked at Kenshin intently, waiting for his answer.

He glanced at her then chuckled. "Some are probably worried, though I doubt my master is."

"Surely he is." Kaoru lift her head.

Kenshin shook his head. "I think he will be more upset with the fact that I didn't return sooner."

"I'm sorry…" Tucking her legs next to her, Kaoru played with the hem of her sleeves. "It is my fault. If you hadn't run into me, you would have returned sooner."

Kenshin stared in surprise at the young woman. She blamed herself for his being late? Smiling he looked up at the night sky through the canopy of the trees. "I'm not."

Kaoru looked up at him. He seemed so calm and serene, the way he looked at the sky. "You're not?" She wasn't sure she understood. "You're not…what?"

Kenshin turned to face her. "I'm not sorry." The truth was that he wasn't sorry he ran into her, but…he felt foolish for thinking such things about a woman he just met. "I'm just glad that there wasn't any danger."

Kaoru smiled and turned her gaze to look up at the sky then, to which Kenshin did the same. "I still have to thank you."

"That is not necessary." Kenshin laughed then. "Besides, you ended up helping me." He placed a hand to the back of his head as if to indicate the bump.

Kaoru shook her head. "I still feel terrible about that." She watched as Kenshin rubbed the back of his head. "If there is anything I can do for you to make up for it, please let me know."

"I believe you have already done a great deal for me, Kaoru-dono."

Kaoru opened her mouth to argue, but already she could tell the Kenshin was just that kind of a person. So instead she just nodded to him.

"Kaoru!" A voice yelled in the darkness. "Kaoru! Show yourself!" Misao sounded upset.

Kaoru mentally cursed and sighed. "I didn't think they would notice so quickly." Kenshin quickly stood up, gathering the bamboo basin and cloth in his hands. Once he had everything he turned and offered a hand to her, just as she started to collect herself.

"It seems that you were missed, Kaoru-dono." He smiled to her. Kaoru took his hand gratefully.

"No, they just noticed I was missing." She stood up and dusted herself off. Some part of her enjoyed the feel of his hand holding hers. Shaking the thought from her mind, she bowed her thanks to Kenshin. "Thank you for your company, Kenshin." Smiling, she took the basin from him, just before turning to leave. "Please take care of yourself."

He nodded to her and watched as she walked away from him, but before she could take more than a few steps she stopped. Slowly she turned around, but she didn't look at him. "I hope we can see each other again someday…" She admitted. "Is that a foolish of me?"

Kenshin could only smile at this. "No," he said. Truthfully, he was rather relieved at her confession. "I am sure we will see each other again, Kaoru-dono."

Kaoru smiled a rather devious smile and turned away from him. "I'll hold you to that then." Then she was gone.

--------------------------------------------------------

AN: Some of you who know a bit of Heian history and/or have read Tale of Genji, I am sure you have noticed some inconsistencies. For those of you who may not know much, I am going to explain a few things.

One small detail is that usually lower class (commoners and slaves) didn't have a surname, therefore to be named Kamiya Kaoru or Himura Kenshin, they had to have had some upstanding background at some point in their family line if not currently.

Secondly, at the end of the Heian era there was a civil war called the Hogen Distrubance which does not take place during the time of Tale of Genji. In fact Genji takes place a bit sooner than that. Thus I had to condense the time of history in order to make it work for this story. I guess that is also why I have placed this story in an alternate universe.

If you wish to know more about the Heian civil war, I recommend these sites:

http/en. probably notice an inconsistency in the dates of the Heian period. I personally think Wikipedia's information is easier to understand and slightly more informative (I also think the dates are a little more accurate but I could be wrong).

Most of my background comes from multiple sources from when I was studying Japanese history, but for the sake of my readers I have selected just a couple from online resources. I have more books than web sources really.

Also to state the obvious, Genji's character is off from Murasaki's writing so please don't base your thoughts of the story "Tale of Genji" off of the depictions in my story because they are **not** accurate. I'm simply using him for my purposes bwahahahaha!

If you have any questions or corrections to my information, by all means contact me.

- 影雨


	5. Chapter 5: Arrangement

The following morning, Kenshin stepped out of his room to find Hiko sitting on the ledge of the porch just outside his door. It wasn't something he was expecting to see.

"Shishou?" His voice held the surprise that he felt.

His master, however, didn't move from his spot. He didn't even bother to turn his head. "You were late," he said.

Kenshin remained silent. He had been waiting for this lecture so it was just best to just let Hiko talk.

But he was surprised once again. "Baka." Was all his master said before taking a swig of his _sake_. Even when he was through, he said nothing.

"Is that all?" Kenshin asked suspiciously.

Hiko stood up and faced him with such speed that Kenshin was a little startled.

"This is not the time to be neglecting your duty as my heir!" Hiko Seijirou, being the tall man that he is, ended up bending over to shove his face into Kenshin's.  
"You don't have to like it. You may not even want the responsibility, but you will understand your place!" With that Hiko turned around and stormed away, his cloak billowing behind him.

To say that Kenshin was stunned was an understatement. His master had been sincerely angry with him. It had been completely uncharacteristic for him not to throw insults at his pupil and threaten him with punishments.

Feeling a presence behind him, Kenshin glanced over his shoulder, still somewhat shocked from the latest incident.

"Everyone was worried about you." Yahiko stated. While he seemed composed, his face was weary from worry. "It's not like you to disappear for long periods of time without letting anyone know where you are going."

Kenshin turned to face the boy. He had no explanation to give. How do you tell someone who cared about you that you didn't feel like returning? He was supposed to be the ever responsible, ever the strong, ever the composed one in the house…but all Kenshin could think was how much he didn't really feel like staying there to take on a responsibility he never wanted. He knew he should be grateful to his master for taking him in when he was a young orphan, but he just didn't know how to do the duties of a provincial lord. No, maybe he could. It just wasn't something he was sure he could handle emotionally.

"A messenger came last night from Genji-sama." The emotion in Yahiko's voice made Kenshin focus on him completely. "We are to expect a visit from him soon." He leaned against a pillar as if too tired to keep himself standing on his own. "Master Hiko was none too pleased by this news." And by the sounds of it, Yahiko wasn't either. What was said in that letter?

But that was another reason Kenshin didn't want the said responsibilities. He didn't want to have to deal with the rest of the nobles and show them respect he didn't feel all of them deserved. He always had a feeling Hiko felt the same way, and by his master's sour mood that morning, it only encouraged that feeling.

"I'm sorry Yahiko." That was the only thing Kenshin could say. And he meant it. He hadn't intended to make everyone feel abandoned. He thought that surely everyone would be fine without him for one day. But Yahiko had a point: he didn't just disappear without telling anyone where he was going and without giving some idea of when he would return. When he was younger, he had done that many times. But now...now he had responsibilities to the people of this town. He owed it to his friends to communicate with them.

Yahiko only nodded in reply.

The image of Kaoru's emotion-filled face flashed in his mind. She too had wanted to escape from something. Were they both running from the lives they were placed in? He wanted to ask her. However, the look on Yahiko's face made Kenshin realized that he needed to be here and there was little chance of him being able to sneak off again. Even more so now that they were expecting a government official...but he wanted to see her again.

"Would you like to go into town with me?" Kenshin asked the boy. It wasn't much of an offer, but the way Yahiko's face lit up, it obviously made him feel good.

"Sure!"

He needed anything to distract him at that moment.

-------

Kenshin with his two swords and Yahiko with his shinai set out into the town to look for Tae. At first the short journey was in silence, but eventually Yahiko got the courage up to ask about Kenshin's disappearance.

"Ne Kenshin?" He reluctantly started.

"Hmmm?"

The young boy looked at the ground then back up at Kenshin. "Where did you go?"

He had been waiting for the question and the best way to answer was the truth. "I went into the forbidden forest."

Yahiko's eyes went wide. "Why?"

Kenshin laughed and smiled down at the kid. "Because I thought it was the best place to train."

"Then why were you gone so long?"

There was a moment of silence in which Kenshin had to consider how to answer. The last thing he wanted was for someone else to stumble across Kaoru practicing swordsmanship. "I was knocked out." He finally answered.

"Wha--?" Yahiko froze in the spot. "How?"

Kenshin looked at his shocked expression and smiled. "Let's just say I discovered the rumors to be true."

"You mean that-that-that a monster knocked you out and tried to eat you?" Kenshin felt sorry for Yahiko who now looked possibly terrified at the thought that the story of the forbidden forest was true. And by the way he was looking over Kenshin, he was wondering why he wasn't more injured.

Kenshin shook his head. "No, I believe that it was the spirit of a samurai who died in the forest." He corrected.

The fear faded to fascination. "Really? What did he look like?"

He tried not to laugh at the boy's eagerness. "I'm afraid all I saw was black hair."

All Yahiko could do, for the rest of the walk, was question Kenshin about the encounter like "how did he sneak up on you?" "What was his fighting style like?" and Kenshin could only offer brief answers. But finally they arrived at Tae's restaurant, where she stood just outside the entrance sweeping.

"Himura-san!" She exclaimed in delight. "I am glad to see you are all right. I heard you didn't return until very late last night."

"Aa, this is true." He bowed to her then folded his hands into the sleeves of his kimono. "I came to apologize. I lost the basket you gave me while I was out wandering yesterday. Is there a way I can replace it?"

"Oh heaven's no! That's just silly." Tae continued on explaining to him how she had given it to him and then proceeded to lecture him about how she hoped he found a nice woman to share the food with. Kenshin was politely listening when a cloaked figure in the market just behind her caught his eye. The figure had been speaking with one of the shopkeepers, when the shopkeeper pointed directly at Kenshin. Glancing in his direction the figure bowed to the shopkeeper and hurriedly walked away in the opposite direction.

"Is something wrong young master?" Tae's question snapped his attention back to her.

"Unfortunately yes. I just saw someone I must speak to. Please forgive me. I will return to finish this conversation." There was no point in alarming Tae. With that in mind, Kenshin turned to Yahiko. "Please give Shishou a message for me."

Yahiko nodded his head, determined to bring the message back word for word.

-------

Kenshin managed to follow the cloaked figure to the edge of town and just when he thought he had an opening to catch him, the person took off into the forbidden forest.

"Damn!" He gave chase but just as he was gaining on him, the person leapt into a tree and disappeared into the branches. Kenshin continued to follow as far as he could until three kunai rushed towards him. Ducking behind a tree, they embedded into the trunk.

"Show yourself!" He demanded. Without further prompting, the cloaked figure jumped out of the trees pulling off the cloak. Landing with little trouble, Kenshin came face to face with yet another woman.

"Stay away Himura Kenshin!" She snapped at him, pulling out another set of her weapons. "I know who you are and you will be nothing but trouble."

"What is this about?" He went from an attacking stance to a defensive stance just in case she decided to start throwing things again. She was by no means an amateur.

"Stay away from Kaoru-san."

The name surprised him. "Kaoru-dono?" Suddenly things fell in place in his mind. "You are the friend she spoke of."

Misao grumbled something that he couldn't quite hear. "Yeah and if you don't want me to hurt you again, then promise you will stay away from her." She readied herself to throw her knives.

"How are you friends with Kaoru-dono?" It was strange to Kenshin that Kaoru was friends with the ninja girl.

Her attention was suddenly caught by something else and Kenshin let her be distracted. At least she wasn't throwing sharp objects at him anymore.

"Listen this is your last warning. This is the only time I will spare you, got it?" With that she jumped back into the trees and disappeared.

Kenshin was left alone with only the sound of the crows to keep him company. He would have to return home to give his master an explanation but…he also wanted some answers from Kaoru.

_Though really you are just using this an excuse to see her again_, some part of his mind confessed. He was okay with that.

-----

Kaoru stared up at the ceiling of her room. She was completely bored out of her mind. Misao had gone off to do some task Aoshi had asked of her. That said man also stood outside Kaoru's door trying to convince her to get dressed...only in that stoic sort of way of his. Which meant the conversation went with him telling her to get dressed, her refusing, him justifying it by saying that Genji might decide to pay an unscheduled visit, then her spouting that she would get dressed if and when he showed up.

Eventually Aoshi seemed to give up and just sit outside her door in silence. Just then Misao threw open the shoji doors to her room and flopped down next to her on the floor.

"You're back!" Kaoru sat up, though she was still dressed in her sleeping yukata.

"Yes, and I hear you have been giving Aoshi-sama a hard time." Misao gave Kaoru a look that seemed to scold her.

"Shinomori-san was being just as much of a pain as I was to him." Kaoru flopped onto her back once more. "I don't like being trapped in here."

Misao watched Kaoru for a moment. She was staring at the ceiling again. "You're thinking of that man, aren't you?"

Kaoru sat up immediately and blushed profusely. "N-no! Why should I be?"

Misao sighed and threw up her hands into the air. "Kaoru, don't do this to me please?"

"Do what to you?"

"Just forget about him and promise me that you won't see him again." Her friend pleaded. Aoshi stayed outside the door, but even Kaoru knew he was waiting for her to promise Misao.

Kaoru sighed but she didn't answer.

"Promise?" Misao pleaded.

Shaking her head, Kaoru finally answered. "I can't do that Misao-chan."

Her friend jumped to her feet and stomped on the floor. "Why not? You only just met him yesterday!"

Kaoru remained silent. While she knew Misao was her friend, she was still also her protector. The feeling Kaoru got from being around Kenshin was not something she felt like sharing with anyone else.

"Stop ignoring me." Misao huffed again. She couldn't control Himura Kenshin, but she would try to get Kaoru to understand.

"I thought you of all people would understand how I feel about my situation." Kaoru's words were like a slap in the face to her friend.

"Kaoru-san...I do understand...but--" Misao started while Kaoru stood up from the floor and turned away from her. "But don't you see? You just met him. You don't know anything about him. How can you trust him?"

"Because he didn't try to kill me when he woke up." She started to get undressed from her sleeping gown, causing Aoshi to slide the door shut. "He could have killed me when he learned I was practicing the arts, but he didn't."

Misao couldn't argue with that point. So she was going to have to tell her friend what she learned.

"He's the son of a provincial lord, Kaoru." The words stopped Kaoru in her tracks. The kimono hung from her shoulders, forgotten.

"That explains his name then." Then she smiled and continued to wrap herself up in the sunset colored kimono.

"He told you his name?" The green-eyed girl was surprised.

"Yes. And I gave him mine." Kaoru confessed, pulling her hair out of the neckline of her outfit.

"You did what?" Misao practically collapsed to the floor.

With practiced hands, Kaoru tied all her cords in place around her kimono while her friend sat on the floor completely horrified. Finally all that was left was the obi. Pulling the red obi from a stand she stood in front of Misao. "But only my first name."

Her friend looked up at her as if she didn't quite understand what she had just said. "Just your…? OH!" Misao leapt to her feet. "Don't scare me like that! It's bad on my heart!"

Kaoru just laughed. "Now will you please help me with this?"

Misao called in Tsubame as well to help Kaoru into her obi, but the conversation to convince Kaoru to avoid Kenshin continued.

"If Genji-sama finds out that you have been sneaking out to see another man, let alone just sneaking out into the forest, he could have all of our heads." Misao's words made Tsubame gulp loudly.

"Misao-chan is being melodramatic Tsubame-chan. Just ignore her." Kaoru continued to hold still, while she was wrapped into her obi.  
The braided-hair girl yanked on the obi as if to tighten it, causing Kaoru to gasp. "Oi!"

"Be reasonable Kaoru-san!" They finally finished with the tying of the obi and stood waiting while Kaoru spun around to get their approval. "I will not be a part of this." Misao crossed her arms, though 'this' was in reference to her sneaking out to meet another man.

"You look beautiful Kaoru-san!" Tsubame spoke up from her usual soft voice. Completely oblivious to Misao's disdain.

"Thank you!" Kaoru winked at the young girl. "For helping me, why don't you go into the garden and pick some flowers for this evening?" Tsubame was more than happy to do so. It certainly beat doing the dishes.

"You are ignoring me again!" Misao snapped again.

Kaoru turned to face her angry friend after Tsubame left. "Misao-chan," her friend didn't like how the sentence was starting. "I realize that if I insist on seeing Kenshin, then there is a chance I will be discovered. I also realize what this will mean for you and Aoshi..." She went to the doors that led to the garden and slid them open. "Please understand that I am not trying to risk your lives unnecessarily...I just need..." She took a deep breath as if it was difficult to finish the sentence. And for her it was, because to say it meant admitting to the reality of her life.

"I just need these last few moments of freedom before the doors to my cage close." She looked over her shoulder to her silent ninja friend. "Can you understand that?"

Misao hugged her then. "Marriage to Genji-sama isn't necessarily a cage Kaoru-san."

Kaoru desperately wanted to believe her, but something in her mind told her otherwise. "Perhaps...but if not my marriage then my place at the courts will be." She pulled away. "I will never get to see this house again. Or this garden. Or the town I used to shop in. But most of all...I will never be able to practice kendo again." Kaoru pulled a hair ribbon from a box she had specifically for such items. "This place and my kendo are all I have left of my father." Tying up her hair into a plain ponytail, Kaoru ran her fingers through her dark strands. "I don't miss my father as much when I am around Kenshin. He makes me feel like everything will be okay." That was all Kaoru was going to confess to her friend for now, but she wasn't about to face the look Misao was most likely giving her. She could only imagine the look of disapproval.

Both stood in silence for several minutes. Kaoru finally stepped out of her room towards the pathway to the garden.

"Promise me something." Misao's voice called after her.

Kaoru glanced back, but she didn't see a look of disappointment or anger. Rather she saw a look of determination on her friend's face. "What is it?"

Shaking her finger at Kaoru, the ninja girl began her lecture. "Don't stray too far into the forest. Come back the moment you hear us signal for you to return, but most importantly of all..." She took a breath. "Promise me that you will tell Himura-san of your engagement."

Kaoru was silent for a moment. She didn't want to tell him of her engagement, but she understood the reason for Misao asking her to do so.

"If I promise, then what?"

Misao glanced over her shoulder upon hearing Aoshi opening the interior door. He stared at her and in return she gave him a look that asked him to please understand.

"Then I will help you see Himura-san again."

Kaoru's eyes lit up and she threw her arms around Misao. "Thank you so much Misao!"

"Oi! But you have to promise!" Misao tried to sound more commanding but it just came out like a weak demand.

"I promise." Kaoru's tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. She may not have wanted to tell Kenshin about her betrothal, but she was willing to make that promise if it meant seeing him again.

-------

A short time later, Aoshi was standing outside the front of the Kamiya dojo. "Hannya." He summoned.

A voice called from the shadow of a tree. "Yes okashira?"

"Things have just become more complicated." He turned his head in the direction of the voice. "Have Beshimi keep an eye on Prince Genji."

"Yes sir." And then the presence was gone.

Closing his eyes, he resisted the urge to sigh. It was then he felt Misao approach him from behind.

"Aoshi-sama," She reluctantly called to him. When he didn't answer, she took the moment to say: "Thank you."

That surprised him. He turned around slowly, as if her words hadn't caught him off guard. Apparently she had been behind him when he had ordered Hannya to relay Beshimi's orders.

"You have placed us in a dangerous situation Misao."

She sighed and looked at the ground. "I know. But..." She couldn't find the words to explain to him why she offered to help Kaoru so she just stopped.Aoshi walked just past her and then paused in his steps. "But it's better this way."

His words made her happy. He could feel it rolling off of her like a wave from the ocean. Yes, whether she realized it or not, he understood all too well. Kaoru seemed to know just as well as he did that Genji would never do anything to harm the members of the Oniwanbanshu, which is probably why she would continue to insist on doing what she felt she had to do. So long as their status protected them, her stubborn streak wouldn't get them into too much trouble. The only one who didn't seem to see this was Misao. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to be cautious about it.

But Misao's train of thought was correct: if Kaoru was insistent on doing this, then it was best if it was on their terms so that they had some control of what could happen.

_Though nothing good could come of this_, he thought.

----------------------------------------------------------

Reformatted Chapter 5 and revised notes.

Notes:

One thing to note: it is uncommon to call someone just by his or her first name in Japan. Usually there is a title with the name (-san, -sama, -chan, -kun, etc.) but I let that slip occasionally because I figure Misao and Kaoru have such a close relationship that they may have situations where they just call each other by their first names (like if they are being serious). In the case for Kenshin and Yahiko, it has been my experience that men seem to call each other by their first name more frequently than women. Usually close friends that are like family. I know this is traditionally not "accurate" but it was just a small observation I made when I first went to Japan. However this is a modern day observation, so things in the Heian era could have never been like that. So I apologize for any lapse in historical accuracy regarding that detail.

Also I am following the traditional Japanese way of addressing names: surname then forename (last name then first name).

Kage Ame


	6. Chapter 6: Before The Door Closes

Kenshin stood in front of his home with a letter in his hands. He had never had so much confusion happen in just a few days. The letter he held had been completely unexpected especially how it was received. Not quite a day later from his encounter with the ninja girl did she suddenly appear on his doorstep in peasant clothing and a raggedy cloak draped about her shoulders. She did not raise her eyes to him, as was expected of a woman in society, but she bowed to him and held the letter out to him with both hands.

"Please forgive me for my intrusion my lord, but I was given this task of delivering this letter to your hands." Her head remained lowered with her arms outstretched waiting for him to take the letter.

"May I ask about the contents of this letter?" He took it from her, which caused her to lower her arms and stand up straighter, but her head remained bowed as she looked at his feet.

"I was not told my lord. I was given specific instructions to deliver it, unopened, directly to your hands." Misao was practically grinding her teeth as she played the part of a serving girl. It would raise suspicion if she had just shown up in her usual attire and started raising demands that the heir of the house come out to get a letter from her.

"Oh," Kenshin had hoped she would give him some indication that he was correct in thinking that the letter was from Kaoru. "You have done your task well, and I appreciate your delivering it to me." He began to open the letter when he heard a clearing of the throat.

Glancing up, he saw Misao nod her head towards his home in order to indicate that he should read it away from prying eyes. He nodded once to her in order to let her know he understood, and with that she had left.

He was now left alone with the letter and completely dumbfounded as to why a girl who was threatening to kill him one day, was now sneaking letters to him from Kaoru. Turning he started to head into the house when Yahiko called out to him.

"Oi, Kenshin." The boy met up with him. "Who was that?"

"Just a messenger." Was all Kenshin said with a smile. "Gomen, Yahiko. But I must take some time to read this." With that, he walked inside his home and went straight to his quarters, leaving the boy slightly confused.

Once he had closed the doors behind him, Kenshin didn't hesitate to open the letter. There, in neat writing, at the middle of the page sat a Tanka poem.

_Patiently I sit_

_By this tree of memories_

_Watching the moon_

Wondering the worth of words 

_In a dying flame_

There was no name but Kenshin knew instantly who it was. While he could tell she was a bit of an amateur poet, he was still impressed by her effort. She wanted to see him again tonight...and tonight she would.

-----

Kaoru paced back and forth in the dojo practice hall waiting for Misao to return.

"I should just continue to make you wait." She heard her friend's irritated voice behind her.

Kaoru turned around and smiled at her. "But you'd hate to hear me whine about it later."

Sighing, Misao nodded in agreement. "Too true. Listening to you whine is the worst torture ever!"

"You're mean!" Her friend pouted, but it didn't last long because they soon burst into a fit of giggles. Once subsided Kaoru got back to the subject at hand, "Did you give it to him?"

"Hai hai. And you SO owe me for this!" Misao crossed her arms and gave Kaoru the cold shoulder. "I am not meant to be your personal messenger! And having to put up that awful façade just to appear less suspicious was the worst!"

Kaoru quickly moved in front of her friend and hugged her. "But you are forever my best friend!" She continued to hug Misao even as her friend tried to squirm her way out of it. "Besides I don't know anyone faster than you, besides Shinomori-san, who could have given him the letter."

Misao grumbled, but she had to admit, Kaoru was good at stroking her ego (even if the statement wasn't entirely true). "Yeah well, just don't make me do it again." Once she dislodged herself from Kaoru's grasp, she straightened out her clothing and started in on a different subject. "Did you write a poem just like I asked you to?"

Kaoru sighed and sulked her shoulders. "Yes. But do you have any idea how hard that was?" She straightened herself out and crossed her arms. "I spent way too many candle marks trying to come up with something that he would understand but might just sound weird to someone else."

"You'll get better when you get to know him."

Kaoru smirked at her words. "Are you saying that I will be able to get to know him better?"

Misao nearly choked on her own breath of air. "That's not what I was trying get at!" She retorted, though even to her own ears it sounded pathetic. "It's just inevitable…that's all."

Smirking Kaoru, picked up a bokken and pointed it at her ninja friend, "I'll believe you if you beat me."

Readying herself in her own stance, Misao couldn't help but smile at the thought of it. "Watch me. I'll beat some sense into you."

But before either of them could do anything, another interrupted. "Later," Hannya's voice came from the doorway. "You'd best make yourself presentable Kamiya-san. A messenger from Genji-sama will be arriving soon."

Almost immediately Kaoru's sunny mood turned gloomy. "Thank you Hannya-san. I will do so immediately." Without glancing to look at Misao's concerned face, Kaoru put her bokken away and returned to her room to change.

-----

Presenting herself in a dark blue kimono with a yellow obi, Kaoru bowed as the messenger stepped into her entryway, a wooden box under one arm.

"Welcome," She greeted with a soft sounding voice.

"Ah I am glad to see that I did not have to wait for you." The messenger stood in front of Kaoru, looking down upon her as she remained with her head bowed to the floor. "When I had heard you were the daughter of that useless samurai, I thought that you would have no manners at all." He walked past her but still refused to give her permission to lift her head. "It seems Genji-sama taught you well."

Misao was seething at the words of the messenger. What right did he have talking to Kaoru like that? Sure she was a woman, but she was to marry Prince Genji! To hell with the fact that he was made a "commoner" by his father, he was still recognized as an important figure. He served closely to his brother, the Emperor!

Before she could leap to the man's throat, Kaoru's voice spoke up.

"While I do not question your opinion of me, you insult Genji-sama by questioning his choice of me." She sat up then, but she did not look at him. "Please refrain from insulting my lord in my presence." Kaoru truthfully just wanted to beat him senseless, but instead she would have to choke down her rage and play the part of the "lowly woman" and a loving bride-to-be.

"Insolent woman!" The messenger whipped around and raised a hand to slap her. "What makes you think Genji-sama will believe you so long as I deny your accusation?" But just before he could bring his hand down, Aoshi caught it.

"You do not only insult Kamiya-san's betrothed, but the Oniwabanshu employer as well. I suggest you refrain from any other outbursts." Then he dropped the messenger's hand and returned to his place near the wall.

Misao would have hugged him if she could have.

Snorting the messenger turned back to Kaoru, who remained seated on the floor. He refrained from remarking how she didn't deserve such treatment from Genji, and instead he returned to proper etiquette shown to a woman soon to be married to a high noble – and by high noble, it meant someone connected to the royal family.

He lowered himself to his knees and sat back on his ankles, pulling forth the box from under his arm. He bowed his head to Kaoru and offered it to her.

"Genji-sama has requested that you wear this for him when he arrives in two days."

Kaoru lifted her hands and accepted the gift, bowing her head in return.

"Thank you, for the trouble of bringing this to me." Though what she really wanted to do was kick him out of her home and threaten to kill him should he ever return.

"I also carry a letter that he requests you read after I leave." He tucked a hand into his garments and pulled out a letter he had stuffed inside between the inner and outer kimono. "Upon giving you this letter, I am supposed to add that you need not worry about any other arrangements for his arrival." He once again bowed to her and offered her the letter, to which she followed the proper motions of accepting it…again. Then with only a few words to indicate his departure, the messenger stood up and left.

"Ass." Misao spat out when he was gone. "Be sure to tell Genji-san to not send such a jerk next time."

"I am not allowed to complain about such things." Kaoru sighed. She was seething, but there was nothing she could do about her anger. So she simply took a deep breath and exhaled, letting her anger go with it.

"You are allowed." Misao argued.

Kaoru just narrowed her eyes at her friend. "You can complain because you are a ninja. I am the daughter of my father who was wrongly judged by society. And as an orphaned girl of society, it is acceptable treatment the way the messenger spoke to me. This is the way it is and I cannot complain about." _At least to a male_, she thought. Kaoru hated it.

Before Misao could argue, she saw Aoshi shaking his head at her. Sighing, she gave up.

Staring down at the letter and the box, Kaoru decided to ignore them, having no interest in the contents. There was only one thing…one person she had any interest in right now and she had no idea if she would even see him tonight.

"Shinomori-san," Kaoru called.

He didn't bother responding, but he turned his gaze to the woman still sitting on the floor to let her know he was listening.

"Is there anyone else I should be concerned about visiting tonight?" She asked.

With a glance, Shikijo understood Aoshi's request and stepped forward. "Beshimi has reported that Prince Genji will be occupied this evening." He paused glancing over at Aoshi, who just nodded for him to continue. "Since a messenger has already arrived, it is safe to say that you will not be disturbed this evening."

Kaoru smiled at the Oniwabanshu member. "Thank you, Shikijo-san." She stood up from the floor then, leaving the letter and gift on the floor. She would have usually picked them up, but after her exchange with the messenger, she couldn't bring herself to do so since they were only the reminders of the imminent future. She watched as Tsubame scurried over and picked them up for her. Placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, she smiled gratefully to her. "Thank you. I am sorry to leave you to deal with them."

Tsubame smiled up at the young woman and shook her head. "Kaoru-san, you have no need to apologize."

Kaoru turned then, and headed towards the garden. "I shall be going."

The sun was only beginning to set, so it seemed quite ridiculous to be leaving now. However, Misao found she could stop her friend from leaving, especially not when the air around Kaoru screamed with the tone 'I want to be alone.'

Kaoru was like a bird in a cage that had always had the door open for her so that she could come and go as she wished. But soon that door would close.

-----

Kenshin stood in his room with a candle lit on one of the tables. Glancing down at the letter he received from Kaoru, he questioned following the instructions to burn it. However, it would not do to have someone discover it and question him about it. Kenshin had nothing to lose if people found out about Kaoru, other than some time that would be lost to a good tongue lashing about how she wasn't of a proper title (not that he was pursuing any sort of relationship like that with her). But Kaoru seemed to have a lot to lose if she was caught meeting up with him. She practiced kendo in the forest, a ninja friend who seemed to be protecting her from something, and from what little information he knew about her – she didn't seem to get to leave home often either….while he didn't know what or who it was she was hiding from, he knew that she had her life to lose if nothing else.

He held the letter over the candle flame and as it caught fire, he placed it on the pottery dish that sat next to the candle. As the paper burned away, leaving nothing behind but ashes, Kenshin turned away and headed out into the darkness of the night.

-----------------------------------

Note to readers: The more I research for this story the harder I find it is to write it. I based this story mostly off of Murasaki Shikibu's story Tale of Genji, though I condensed and changed several details. At the same time I have been trying to brush up on my knowledge of the Heian era so that I could also be more historically accurate...but I have soon discovered that this is not entirely possible. After all Tale of Genji was a novel written for women of the court, so events that happen in the book did not necessarily happen in history. With that in mind, I have changed my approach to this story. I am not going to be focusing so much on being historically accurate when it comes to events. I will continue to **_try _**(the keyword here) to be accurate with the cultural aspects from that time period – which I don't necessarily have a lot of knowledge either.

Though how accurate can I be placing characters about 683 years back from their original era?

Also I had a brief discussion with another individual who studies Japanese history and it was put into question as to the treatment of woman in the Heian era. At the time of my research, I hadn't been focusing on the treatment of woman during the era, I only happened to come across it from one of my many places of research. So it is possible the information is slightly faulty. Since I am actually in Japan, I will probably do further research here just for my own curiosity. If I find something completely contradicting what I have written, then I will go back and change details. Otherwise the details of how women behaved are not quite as important. But it is a fact that women were looked down upon and women didn't have any "rights." Kind of like everywhere else in the world at some point in time.

All right, I think I will be done with ridiculous explanations from now on.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! It always helps to hear from readers so I know whether or not my story is decent enough to continue.

影雨

PS Since SJ Kidd dropped the ball (but I still love you) P I had to edit through this myself. I have been sucking lately at catching all my mistakes (just by looking at my previous chapters), so I am very sorry at the amateur-like skill. I will get better at this and then maybe someone (me or a friend) will have time to help me edit my story. Thank you for your patience with me.


	7. Chapter 7: Stepping Stones

When Kenshin had arrived at the meeting place, he was surprised to see that Kaoru had already arrived. But what startled him the most was her attire. He had been under the impression that she was just a commoner, but commoners did not have such attire unless they were an upstanding family that had lost all respect. Yet, that would only happen if the family had lost its honor – which meant death for the members of the family, though it was not unheard of that women would escape such a fate.

"Were you waiting long, Kaoru-dono?" He asked her, once he gathered his wits.

She shook her head and smiled at him. "No, not long." It wasn't a complete lie: yes she had been sitting there since sunset, but she hadn't really started to get anxious for his company until recently.

Kenshin walked over to her and stood just in front of her, while she had to look up from her sitting position to see him. "You are not all that you seem, Kaoru-dono." He finally sat down near her, but not necessarily next to her.

"Is that an observation or a fact?" The smile did not leave her face. While her natural beauty was quite stunning, she was beautiful still in the formal face make-up. Though it looked like she had taken some of it off.

"Both." He waved his hand over her attire. "Having only met you two days ago, I think there is a great deal you are not saying." He wouldn't say 'hiding' because he felt it would imply she owed him an explanation.

When she didn't respond right away, he was afraid that she misunderstood him. But before he could open his mouth to explain, she laughed.

"Why should I reveal everything at once?" She leaned closer to him. "If I told you everything when we first met, I doubt you would be here this evening."

Kenshin blinked slowly, taking in her words. There was some truth to what she said, but it still confused him. "Is that really why you keep so much to yourself?"

That seemed to stop her short. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment in thought.

He instantly wanted to take back his words, and yet he didn't want to correct himself. He was curious to see how she would respond.

He watched as she exhaled, as if coming to some sort of conclusion. "I am still unsure of myself."

She didn't offer more than that, which made Kenshin feel worse. "I am sorry, Kaoru-dono. It was not my place…"

Kaoru shook her head and lifted her hand to stop him. "No, you have every right." She leaned her head back against the tree. "You haven't known me much more than a day, and I sought you out and asked you to meet me here, without so much as telling you more than my name." She closed her eyes and her face held such sadness, that Kenshin felt the need to rid her of that pain.

He tentatively touched one of her hands that lay in her lap, just enough to grab her attention. She was so startled by the touch that Kenshin succeeded in gaining her attention. "I believe I was the first to say that we would meet again, was it not?"

They sat there in silence for a moment, but finally Kaoru graced him with a smile and nodded to him. "Yes I suppose you did."

Kenshin returned that smile, and withdrew his hand. Kaoru suddenly missed his hand, but mentally smacked herself for thinking it. She shouldn't even be here!

"I still owe you an explanation." She said to him.

He shook his head once again, "you owe me nothing."

"You are a stubborn one, aren't you?"

The uncomfortable mood was washed away. "I suspect I could be a match for you." Their laughter filled the darkness around them.

-------

"Your master use to make you cook his meals?" Kaoru asked incredulously. "But I figured your house would have cooks to do that!"

"We do, and we did back then! But they wouldn't cook when he wanted. So as part of my training, he would make me cook." He paused as Kaoru laughed at his tale. "But I think that was just an excuse. I think he just enjoyed making me his personal slave. The cooks would also reprimand him for doing so."

Kaoru laughed some more. "The cooks reprimanded him? And he allowed that?"

"Oh yes. My master is probably one of the worst individuals to abide by rules, let alone pay attention to social classes."

"So that's where you get it from!" She poked him in the shoulder.

He grabbed his shoulder, mocking pain. "Get what from?"

"Your disregard for social classes and rules." She teased. "But I am thankful for it, or else we would not be here."

By now Kaoru had herself leaning in closer to Kenshin, one hand on the ground supporting the majority of her weight. While he had one leg stretched out and the other bent at the knee with his arm wrapped around it.

"I envy you though." She took a breath to catch up with some much needed air from her laughing. "I don't know how to cook a thing."

"Really?" Kenshin was genuinely surprised. "Isn't that something all women are supposed to learn?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yes, but I simply have a talent for turning anything so black you would question it was ever food once."

"How does your household survive?" He winked at her.

Kaoru grinned. "Well my mother cooked everything until the year she died, but after that my father ended up doing the cooking." She laughed, but it was the kind of laugh one used when reminiscing on happier memories. "We discovered that he was a much better student than I was."

Kenshin was about to ask why he didn't just hire some help, when he quickly remembered that Kaoru was, supposedly, not from a wealthy family.

"Your father must be an amazing man." Kenshin fiddled with a leaf that sat on the ground, envying the man that was Kaoru's father. He managed to work to provide food for the family and cook for his daughter. Kenshin had thought that his own life had been difficult, but Kaoru still seemed to be living the difficult life.

Kaoru shifted so she was sitting up, giving her arm a rest. "Yes he really was amazing."

"Was?" That immediately made him forget his thoughts.

She nodded again. "Yes...he died..."

Kenshin sucked in his breath at her confession. "I am so sorry Kaoru-dono."

She shook her head so hurriedly that he immediately knew she was struggling with a strong emotion. "You didn't know. So please...don't apologize." She hid her face behind her hand.

"Kaoru-dono..."

"I'm...sorry." She managed to choke out the words. "I can't..." She whispered.

Kenshin very carefully wrapped his arms around her. He was uncertain how she would react to it, but she didn't push him away.

Kaoru struggled to keep herself from crying. She continued to hope that Kenshin would remain silent. So long as he did, she would be able to regain her composure. She had thought she had moved past the death of her father by now, but her one confession to Kenshin had brought back all the pain as though it were a fresh wound.

Taking a ragged breath she pulled herself together and pulled away from him. "I'm sorry Kenshin. I thought I had moved past it all…"

He shook his head and lifted a hand to stop her from saying more. "It's all right Kaoru-dono. You have nothing to apologize for."

She took another breath and nodded to him. They both knew that she didn't agree with him. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she was forced to look at him. "The loss of a loved one _should_ take time to accept." He smiled gently at her. "Take all the time you need."

Kaoru gazed at him as though he had given her something no one else had ever given her before. Tears welled up in her eyes but she quickly closed her eyes and turned away. She did not want to cry in front of him. "You speak as though you are one who has lost a great deal." She stated. Turning the attention on him helped a bit.

Kenshin hadn't expected her say that. She had surprised him again. It seemed she was capable of reading into his words straight to his soul. He wanted to deny her statement, but she deserved his honesty.

"Yes, I suppose I have." He finally said.

Kaoru lifted her head to the sky. "Do you remember your parents?" It was a rather abrupt question. It wasn't a complete change of subject but she wasn't going to address what he had lost. He was grateful for that.

Kenshin shook his head. "No. They died when I was very young."

"I see." She turned to face him again, her tears gone but the sadness remained. Yet the sadness he saw was not for her, but sadness for him. "That is unfortunate."

He couldn't help but smile at her. "How is it that you can be concerned for me, when you already hold such a heavy burden?"

Kaoru returned that smile, but it was softer than her usual glowing smiles. "Because it is easier to help others with their burdens than to deal with my own."

The statement held a great deal of truth, especially for him. How often did he go into town to help others with their problems or daily tasks in order to avoid dealing with his own?

Her voice broke him from his thoughts. "Thank you, Kenshin."

Turning his attention back to her, he noticed that she had stood up while he was thinking. It bothered him that he was so distracted that he had not even noticed her movement.

"Are you leaving?" He asked, knowing the answer but hoping he was wrong.

She nodded, her hands clasped together beneath the sleeves of her kimono. "I think it is best."

He stood up quickly. "Is something wrong?"

Kaoru smiled and shook her head. "No. Everything is fine now."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Is there someone waiting for you?"

"No." She stepped closer to him. "But I think I have taken up enough of your time."

He laughed. "You really shouldn't be so concerned."

Kaoru smiled, as she looked up into his face. "I believe that you do not give yourself much consideration. Therefore I will give you the consideration you deserve."

Kenshin chuckled at that. She was right. He rarely thought of himself, and was therefore often in trouble with his master for neglecting himself.

"Your master will be expecting you in the morning, will he not?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Yes he will be."

"Then this is where we will say good bye." Her smile softened, and then she turned to leave.

It was there in her eyes: she did not believe she would see him again. Or she didn't intend to. Which one, he wasn't sure.

Kenshin grabbed her shoulder gently to stop her from going far. She glanced at his hand, then him. "Yes?"

He decided that now was not the time to be reluctant. "May I see you again?"

Any doubt that either held, was wiped away with that one question. "Just tell me when." She answered.

"Tomorrow night."

"Then I will be here." With that she turned and left.

When she was no longer in sight, Kenshin returned to his own home looking forward to their next meeting.

------

So you all probably thought I died. I have become one of those authors that I dislike: updating once in a blue moon. Sorry to have made you wait.

This chapter was difficult to write, purely because it was yet another stepping stone for the rest to come but not a whole lot happened.

I have already started on the next chapter and hope to have it finished soon.

It looks like I do need an editor, so if anyone wants to volunteer please send me a note. If you are interested, please be advised that I need someone who can get the edits done within 2 days of my sending it to them. Also, if you think I have written something poorly, don't be afraid to tell me, but don't be cruel about it.

That's all!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. If it hadn't been for you, I probably would have dropped this project all together with.

影雨


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